REVIEW: “The Realm of Whispering Ghosts”

“The Realm of Whispering Ghosts,” directed by Arne Zaslove with a script created by Seattle writer K.C. Brown, is an ambitious gathering of historical fact, fictional “what ifs,” Japanese Noh theater conventions and costumes, projected images, original music, and intimate glimpses into personal and political dynamics. While all the elements of the production are impressive, to take Einstein’s famous equation as a metaphor, the Energy and Mass of this rather cerebral “thought experiment” don’t quite add up.

The show does create an unusual and memorable experience. Arne Zaslove’s directorial intentions are clear, and his team of artists and actors achieve many moments of poignance and clarity. The “historical” scenes of high level meetings between the newly-designated President Truman (adeptly played by Dennis Bateman) and his pushy mentor James Byrnes (Gordon Coffey in a nuanced and memorable performance) are crisply paced. James Thomas Patrick breathes life into Secretary of War Henry Stimson, one of the hawks circling Truman in the final days of the Manhattan Project.

The Bardo plot thread (see “A Look Ahead at The Realm of Whispering Ghosts” posted Aug. 30) and the relationship between the American POW and the Japanese woman, move somewhat sluggishly. Actors Brandon Marino as Frank, and Mimi Katano as Tomiko, bring delicacy and emotional courage to their roles, yet the pace — perhaps by design to foster a sense of alternate reality — holds back the momentum needed to achieve the desired cliffhanger ending.

Scenes depicting factions within the Japanese government and military (Narea Kang, Cathy Vu, and Rachel Rene) paint a vivid picture of the struggle to balance honor with realism, and of the delayed communications that lead to an avoidable holocaust. General George Marshall (a cocky Greg Michaels) and Albert Einstein (whom Stephan Weyte portrays without a trace of caricature) put opposite spins on the debate about using the bomb.

“The Realm of Whispering Ghosts” asks much of its audience in terms of attention and suspension of disbelief. While the production lacks some cohesion and would benefit from tighter pacing, it is a challenging, thought-provoking, and entertaining experiment with time and space, and it doesn’t take an Einstein to appreciate the talent and creativity on display.